With an estimated 1.6 million visitors per year, the trust operates one of the most visited museums in the United States.

To deal with long-run financial issues, he sought to cultivate relationships with donors and corporate partners.

In the midst of an investigation by the California Attorney General,[12] Munitz resigned in 2006 and was forced to "forgo his severance package of more than $2 million, and reimburse the Getty Trust for $250,000 after alleged improprieties including lavish expense account spending.

[17] In May 2011 James Cuno, director of the Art Institute of Chicago, was named president and chief executive of the Getty Trust, to take office in August.

[18] In April 2022, Katherine Fleming, Provost of New York University, was named president and chief executive of the Trust, to take office in August 2022.

[29] Among other holdings, GRI's research library contains about 900,000 volumes of books, periodicals, and auction catalogs; special collections; and two million photographs of art and architecture.

[32] The GCI is a private international research institution dedicated to advancing conservation practice through the creation and delivery of knowledge.

Together with the American Council of Learned Societies GII sought to build a broad coalition of non-profits to establish a National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage.

[43] At the close of the investigation an independent monitor was hired to assure proper governance and expenditures of the trust.

[50] In September 2015, the Getty Medal was awarded to architect Frank Gehry,[51] who has built an architectural career over five decades and produced public and private buildings in America, Europe, and Asia.

The 2016 Getty Medal was awarded to musician Yo-Yo Ma and, posthumously, to artist Ellsworth Kelly at a celebratory dinner in October.

In addition to his accomplished career as a master cellist, Ma founded the Silk Road Ensemble[52] and the nonprofit Silkroad to promote the creation of new music, cross-cultural partnerships, education programs, and cross-disciplinary collaborations to create meaningful change at the intersection of the arts, education, and business.

Artist Anselm Kiefer and writer Mario Vargas Llosa were presented with the 2017 J. Paul Getty Medal at a dinner in New York City on November 13, 2017.

[56] The 2019 J. Paul Getty Medal was awarded to classicist Mary Beard and artists Ed Ruscha and Lorna Simpson.

[57] The 2020 recipients, announced in February, were Alice Walton, Martin Puryear, and Kwame Anthony Appiah.